The Color Green

[BriaronBoerum]

Not a pre-Saint Paddy's day post! But I've noticed that the color green seems to be the most common departure from the brown/black/natural stains of traditional styles, and it occurs pretty widely not just in Petersons, and other British pipes, but Italian, Danish and German as well. Is there any particular reason for this, does it make us think of fresh green tobacco leaves, and what do people think of green pipes?

 

[sardonicus87]

Well, green is a lot closer to "natural" or "classic" colors (browns, tans, blacks, reds) than colors like blue or purple. It's probably also cheaper and easier to get green than others... there's a reason at one point in time, only royalty wore purple (because only they could afford it, because it was hard to make).

Obviously these days purple dye isn't hard to make or come by like it once was, but that history leaves a lasting impression, and that probably has a hell of a lot more to do with it than some romantic notion of evoking fresh tobacco leaves—how many end-users ever think of any color other than red/yellow/orange/tan when they think of tobacco? I'd guess not many.

There's other psychology involved too with color, like that purple is relatively rare "in nature", and blue also is rare "in nature" if you don't count the sky and the ocean, like you don't see a lot of blue stomping around the woods.

In other words, green is probably more common for "non traditional colors" than others for the same reasons it's more common in general (like, wall paint, or car colors, or anything else you can think of).

 

[didimauw]

Light brown or dark brown for briars. No colors. I don't even like colored stems or colored accents on pipes. Brown pipe. Black stem. I'm boring.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

I feel like it’s a thing to do with “forests” and nature since a lot of us seem to enjoy smoking our pipes outside.

 

[OzPiper]

Light brown or dark brown for briars. No colors. I don't even like colored stems or colored accents on pipes. Brown pipe. Black stem. I'm boring.

With you on that one
I have 2 pipes with coloured stems - don’t reach for them often

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

And a fun watch.

 

[Chasing Embers]

They really come in just about any color but excluding St. Patrick's Day, I rarely see green ones.

 

[coming to_falling too]

They really come in just about any color.
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I've always admired that multi colored Weaver

 

[BriaronBoerum]

They really come in just about any color but excluding St. Patrick's Day, I rarely see green ones.
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Thanks for showing your colors!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Thanks for showing your colors!

I'd like to see more green!

 

[dd57chevy]

Light brown or dark brown for briars. No colors. I don't even like colored stems or colored accents on pipes. Brown pipe. Black stem. I'm boring.

I agree 100% . I think my reasoning might have to do with my admiration for my pipe smoking maternal grandfather . I still miss him after 52 years (I think he died when I was 12) .
Just can't picture him smoking a turquoise pipe with a flamboyant stem .

 

[Pip'n'Piper]

There's other psychology involved too with color, like that purple is relatively rare "in nature", and blue also is rare "in nature" if you don't count the sky and the ocean, like you don't see a lot of blue stomping around the woods.

Excluding the sky and bodies of water, which is a rather large omission, there are: blueberries, blue jays, blue admirals, blue spruce, blue cedar, periwinkle, forget-me-nots, blue bells, plenty of blue fish, wild turkeys can have blue faces, robins lay blue eggs, hummingbirds and starlings can appear blue in certain lights, blue molds and funguses and Ive even come across blue spotted salamanders. I get your point, and you're correct, most blue is a trick of the light and it makes up a very small percentage of colour we see in nature, but there is plenty of blue around in the woods, gotta represent my boy blue!

 

[Dave760]

Excluding the sky and bodies of water, which is a rather large omission, there are: blueberries...

Blueberries are purple. I will die on this hill!

 

[Chasing Embers]

like that purple is relatively rare

Love my birthstone though.

 

[sardonicus87]

Excluding the sky and bodies of water, which is a rather large omission, there are: blueberries, blue jays, blue admirals, blue spruce, blue cedar, periwinkle, forget-me-nots, blue bells, plenty of blue fish, wild turkeys can have blue faces, robins lay blue eggs, hummingbirds and starlings can appear blue in certain lights, blue molds and funguses and Ive even come across blue spotted salamanders. I get your point, and you're correct, most blue is a trick of the light and it makes up a very small percentage of colour we see in nature, but there is plenty of blue around in the woods, gotta represent my boy blue!

And? 90% of it is still greens and browns...

I didn't say it didn't exist, that it's rare, relatively speaking. Which is kind of literally the whole point and context of blues and purples not being as common as greens and browns.

 

[Pip'n'Piper]

And? 90% of it is still greens and browns...

I didn't say it didn't exist, that it's rare, relatively speaking. Which is kind of literally the whole point and context of blues and purples not being as common as greens and browns.

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[stephendownie]

I love me some green pipes, but in my limited experience green to get murky after a short time smoking. Brown is a pretty easy colour to maintain on the other hand.

 

[JoburgB2]

To each his own. Coloured pipes and stems do not appeal to me. Green? I don’t think so. But I have a blue one, a Big Ben Festival with a blue bowl and shank and a blue acrylic stem. I would never have chosen it for myself, but a family member gifted it to me. It’s a sentimental fondness, and a decent smoker, takes a 9mm filter. I rarely use it but I will never get rid of it. Enjoy your colours, they are different, and spice things up. But my tastes are more boring and traditional.

 

[SBC]

My taste in briar -- indeed in anything wooden -- is very traditional: varying shades of brown, ranging from darker to lighter to redder.

Stems are another matter. I'm very attracted to white stems on otherwise traditional stummels.

As for other colored stems, like blue or green (if paired with traditional stummels)...they intrigue me. I don't have any, but they're sometimes attractive.

 

[yardjocky]

My favorite color is green so I love them that being said I only have one green pipe!